Sorry for the wait everyone, I wrote this chapter at least a week ago, but between getting ready for Halloween and catching myself a cold, I just got around to drawing the Chapter cover to publish it elsewhere. This chapter is Juvia heavy, and has some switching of POV, so I hope you like it

A reply before we get started. To the guest that asked: Yes! There will be romance, eventually. Right now the fic will focus on building friendships, so you'll have to stick around for the future romance~


The Rain is falling.
It puts some to sleep, it keeps some awake.

But no matter what, everyone can hear it.

But she felt it too.

She felt it in her heart.


Rain pelted against the window of a tiny one-bedroom apartment. The morning sky was dark and gray, leaving no sun to shine through onto the occupant's tired face, as she tossed around under her sheets. She knew her alarm would be bleating out its screams any moment now, but she just wanted a few minutes more of rest.

Time had no compassion for her however, as the minute hand met with the number twelve on her desk clock, and it's high pitch ringing screeched out, echoing off the walls and attacking her ears.

It was 7 am already.

Pale legs slipped out from under the sheets, as the young lady brushed a hand through her tousled, light blue hair. She combed her fingers through her curls with one hand, and rubbed her eye with the other. Getting up on rainy days were the hardest for her.

The sound of the rain kept her up all night, but the sullen atmosphere of the storm drained her energy, so by the time morning came, she was exhausted and sleepless.

Slowly, the tired little lady made her way into her bathroom, and flicked the light switch to examine herself in the mirror.

Juvia Lockser stared back at herself from the reflective glass. There were bags under her eyes, and her hair was matted on the side she turned against her pillow over and over again the night before. She let out a sigh, and picked up a hairbrush before beginning to ready herself for the day.

After Juvia had brushed her hair and teeth, she pulled her Fairy Hills High School uniform on. A gray pleated skirt on her bottom, and a yellow sweater vest overtop of a white, short-sleeved blouse on her top. She then busied herself with packing her school bag, and finding the lunch she had packed the night prior, before heading for the front door.

The blue haired high school student reached up to the coat rack next to the door and pulled down her gray blazer, pulling it over each shoulder, before looking at the rack again for her umbrella.

But it was nowhere to be seen.

"That is right…" Juvia said to herself softly, "Juvia left her umbrella at school last week."

The young lady gave another sigh. She could just skip school… No, she had missed three science classes already. She couldn't risk failing a class, not when extra classes would cost her money she didn't have.

So, she took a deep breath, before pulling her blazer off again. She pulled her tote bag, full of books, over her shoulder and then put her blazer atop her head. She remembered seeing characters do this in the romance manga before. It usually didn't work very well—but it was the best idea she had.

With that done, Juvia checked her bag for her house keys once more, and then opened the door and pouted as the sound of the pouring rain grew louder as she stepped out into it.


"Ugh, this rain is the worst." Lucy grumbled to herself, as she exited the gates of the Heartfilia Estate. Over her head, she held a blue umbrella, which the rain ran down and dribbled around her feet.

Luckily, her walk to school wasn't a very long one, and Lucy was still in a pretty good mood. Three nights ago she had been granted magical powers from a wishing star… or something like that. Everything was still pretty unclear, but she knew she would be able to help people, and find her own dreams while she was at it.

Every morning that Lucy had awaken since that night, she would leap up, thinking it must have been a dream, but in the pocket of her school skirt, the magic star pen still sat, and she knew it was no vision.

Lucy hummed to herself softly, as the rain gave her walk a hushed soundtrack of 'dinks' and 'drip drops.'

As she reached a street corner, about three blocks from school, she saw a single figure waiting at the crosswalk. As she walked closer, she recognized it was a young lady, wearing the same uniform as hers. Except this girl had a yellow vest, marking her as a third year student, while Lucy's second year vest was pink. The student in front of her was without an umbrella, and instead had her blazer draped over her head, however, it had not done much help for her. The young lady was absolutely soaked from head to toe.

Lucy took another step closer, and heard the girl mumbling softly to herself.

"Juvia is so dumb. She should have worn something else and changed into her uniform at school." She took a sniveling breath, "Now Juvia is just wet and cold for no reason."

Lucy frowned at the sound of the young lady beating herself up, and stepped up next to her, holding her umbrella over the both of them.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked.

The third year student gasped and turned her head, and Lucy's question was answered with a glare like she had never seen before. With teary eyes and wet, blue hair sticking to her face, the young lady grimaced at Lucy, before saying. "Leave Juvia alone."

Before Lucy could react, the light changed, and the other girl raced over the crosswalk without looking back.

Lucy stood still for a moment, and turned her head to the side. "What was that about…?"


Juvia reached her school at a quickened pace, and didn't slow down until she was safely inside the building. Students and teachers alike sent her looks of pity as she was now dripping from the rain. She sighed again, and looked over her shoulder. The girl who had tried to speak to her outside was nowhere in sight.

Good. She told herself mentally, Juvia doesn't need anyone's pity.

The young lady turned to the halls, and made her way to the locker. She would have to change into her gym uniform, and hang her school uniform up to dry, otherwise she would catch cold, and just disgust the rest of the students while she was at it.

Juvia reached her locker, and felt her day grow worse. Over her silver, metal locker was a word written in bright red lipstick. "Orphan."

That was the only thing written, but to Juvia's eyes, there were more words. In her mind, it really said, "Nobody loves you."

The blue haired girl fought back her tears, and opened the combination lock hanging on the locker door, and opened it up. She pulled some tissues out from it and scrubbed at the door until the word was just smeared, red ink.

She decided that would be enough until she had time to properly clean it after class, and reached into the door again for her gym clothes.

"There you are." A gasping voice said from her right, "You ran away so fast earlier, I thought we might be late for class."

Juvia pulled away from her locker, the see the blonde second year student from outside standing next to her. She wore a new grimace. "What do you want?" She asked after turning her head away again. "Juvia needs to get changed. She does not have time for dilly dallying."

"Juvia? Who's that?" The blonde asked, having obviously not understood Juvia due to her speech pattern. The blue haired girls cheeks burned red from embarrassment. She had picked up the habit of speaking in third person when she was very young, and it had become second nature now. She couldn't help it.

"Juvia is me." She said with a glare.

"Oh." The yellow haired girl said, still sounding confused, and then, "Oh! Okay. I Get it. Sorry. I'm Lucy." She laughed awkwardly. Juvia rolled her eyes.

"Okay, Lucy, would you please leave Juvia alone?" She asked again, before slamming her locked door shut, making the other girl leap backwards.

"I was just going to offer you some dry clothes." Lucy said, and held out an extra blouse and skirt to Juvia. Her eyes were drawn from her upper classman and to the red locker door next to her. "Wow. What happened to your locker?"

That was it. Juvia was done with this nosy girl. "Juvia said 'LEAVE HER ALONE!'" She shouted loudly, and slapped the clothes out of Lucy's hands.

"Hey!" Lucy snapped back, "You didn't have to—" The blonde's words were cut short as she saw Juvia's eyes fill with tears, before the dripping yet lady turned on her heel and ran down the hall, leaving Lucy alone again.


Some four hours later, Lucy walked out of her class with her book bag over one shoulder. In her hands she held her lunch box, but she couldn't think about eating. She didn't know why, but she hadn't been able to think about anything but the sad, blue haired, third year student she had met before class started.

She trekked down the hall a couple doors, and poked her head into a third year class. There were still a few students bumming around in their seats, but most had gone to the cafeteria for lunch already, however, she saw a short head of blue hair standing up front with a teacher.

Lucy's friend, Levy, was nodding her head and chatting with her instructor, until she saw Lucy and gave her a wave. After exchanging a few more words with the adult, the student came running over to Lucy.

"Lucy! You look so much better than the other day. Did something good happen?" The short third year asked excitedly.

"Something like that…" Lucy laughed softly. She figured it was better to not tell anyone about her 'magical powers.' Everyone probably already thought she was weird as was.

"So what's up?" Levy asked, "Did you want to have lunch together?" She held up her small lunch box as she asked the second question.

"Sure, if you don't mind me asking you a couple questions, Miss 'Student Council President.'"

Levy gave a salute and a goofy smile. "You can count on me!"

The two students laughed as the left the class, and found a bench in an empty hallway to settle down and eat.

Lucy opened her lunch box, which was full of snacks: a granola bar, an orange, a can of soda and a bag of chocolate cookies were on the menu today.

"Lucy, you have got to eat better." Levy whined, and opened her lunch box to present a sandwhich filled with ham and veggies, a bag of carrots, and a bottle of iced tea.

"Yeah…" Lucy said guiltily, and popped open her soda. "I just don't have time to cook with how much my father makes me study, and I don't want to burden the maids with extra work."

"Hoh-hoh~ There you go with your 'maids' again." Levy teased.

"Shut up." Lucy laughed, and elbowed her friend in the side.

"Okay, okay. Now what did you want to ask about?" The third year class president asked.

Lucy took a sip of her soda to wash down the cookie she had eaten, and then gave Levy a worried look. "Do you know anything about a girl named 'Juvia?' She's a third year like you and she talks to herself a lot."
Levy nodded her head. "Yeah, Juvia's in my class." Her brows knotted as she continued, "She was in the running to be class president too, but she stepped down right before we took votes."

Lucy pouted, peeling her orange by hand, and sighed before asking. "Is she being… bullied?"

Her blue haired friend frowned. "Probably." She stated, "I don't know the details, but I think it's been happening for a while, but recently it got really bad."

"How come?" Lucy asked, and offered a slice of citrus fruit to Levy, who took it with a sullen smile.

"Well, somehow, it got out that Juvia's living all alone." Levy started, and then sighed. "She was… an orphan who was never adopted, and I guess… It's just always been eating away at her. Now someone's picking at an old wound and Juvia's been very dreary. Just earlier today, she came to class in her gym clothes, because her uniform got soaked in the rain. The teacher almost put her out, but she started crying…"

Lucy watched as Levy began to shiver.

"As class president, I should be able to help her, but she won't let anyone close to her. I just don't know what to do." The tiny girl mumbled.

Lucy patted Levy's head softly, and the girls exchanged half-hearted smiles, before finishing their lunches in silence.


The last bell for school tolled and class was out before Lucy even knew it. The blonde stretched in her seat, and pulled herself out of the chair, before heading for the door. Just as she pulled open the sliding door, a head of long blue haired passed her.

"Juvia!" Lucy called the girls name, leaping out the door.

Juvia sucked her teeth with a "tch" and began running right away. She was still in her gym uniform, and didn't have a skirt that could fly up from running. Lucy was not so lucky, and cursed inwardly as she took off after the young lady.

Juvia could hear the footsteps of the young lady thundering behind her, and growled. What did this girl have against her?

As she neared the school doors, she could see the rain had stopped, though the ground was still wet, and didn't hesitate to rush out the double doors—she could change into her uniform tomorrow morning if she had to.

Juvia stumbled down the school stairs, but the blonde girl was right behind her. She grimaced, and turned to her right, running behind the school, and turning around as the other girl came around the corner after her.

"What do you want?!" Juvia screeched as Lucy skidded to a stop in front of her. "Do you want to pick on Juvia, like everyone else? Well, get it over with then!"

"N-No!" Lucy cried out, "I just wanted to help you. I wanted to be your friend."

"Juvia doesn't want your help!" The blue haired girl shouted back, balling her fists up at her sides, "Juvia doesn't need anyone! Juvia's wish came true already! She has everyone she needs!"

Lucy gasped for air, and then raised an eyebrow. "A wish?" She gasped, "You don't mean… ten years ago?"

Juvia seemed taken aback by the question, and she began to shake. "How could you know-?"

"I didn't, but I also—" But speaking was useless now. Juvia wasn't listening to Lucy anymore.
"No one should know about that! No one was there for Juvia." She blue hair girl stumbled band and held onto her head as tears streamed down her cheeks. "NO ONE CARES ABOUT JUVIA!"

And then Lucy watched something all too familiar happen. Juvia gasped loudly, and clenched her chest, before a dark cloud burst out from under Juvia's hands, and took the shape of the young lady.

"Wh-What is happening?" Juvia whimpered, and fell to the wet ground. Her eyes were wide as the figure turned to her and reached out towards her. "Iyaaaaah!" She screamed, and threw her arms over her face.
"Not so fast!" Lucy shouted, and grabbed her yellow star stick, and leapt into the air. She spun around in a circle, and the star stick enveloped her in bright white stars, before they all burst and left her standing in her transformed state. "Don't you dare touch Juvia!" She shouted at the figure.

The shadow turned its formless face to Lucy. Just like before, this shadow oozed darkness from it's base, and Juvia was kicking back the mud under her, trying to scurry away from it as fast as she could, but she couldn't seem to gather enough courage to ever stand.

"What do you want?" Lucy asked the figure in a commanding voice.

For a moment, everything was quiet, and then the figure shrank to the size of a child. "Juvia just wants someone to love her. Why didn't Juvia's mommy and daddy want her?"

The blue haired girl in the mud suddenly became very still, and continued to listen to the figure.

The figure grew again, but didn't move otherwise. "Juvia's wish came true, but Juvia is all alone again." The voice shook like a child who had barely learned to speak, "Why doesn't anyone care about Juvia?"

"I care about Juvia!" Lucy's voice shouted over the voice. Both the figure and Juvia seemed to jump in surprise. "Juvia, I just wanted to help you. But it's clear now that you need to help yourself first."

"What… What do you mean?" Juvia finally spoke up. Before Lucy could answer, a crack of thunder boomed through the air, and the sky grew dark again. The two girls looked up as the cloud, expecting it to begin to pour, but instead, a single item fell from the sky. A short, dark blue stick fell right at Juvia's feet. At one end was a little gray cloud, the other a cyan raindrop. Juvia reached a shaky hand towards it.

"Don't!' Lucy shouted out. Juvia jumped again, and retracted her hand, before listening to what else Lucy had to say. "Don't pick up that stick unless you're ready to start fighting for other people. Don't pick it up unless you're ready to embrace your own sadness."

Juvia's eyes left Lucy and drifted over to the shadowy figure, which hadn't moved, but its darkness had covered most of the empty area behind the building now. Only a circle around Lucy's feet and a mere inch around Juvia and the blue stick were still uncovered.

Juvia took a deep breath, and then reached for the stick again. Lucy smiled, as she watched the girl wrap her fingers around it.

Juvia didn't understand what was happening, not really, but when she took the pen in her hand, one of the gray clouds in the sky above her opened up and a waterfall's worth of rain fell down upon her. She thought she would cry, but instead of feeling soaked, she felt warm—and light; like she was flying. The sound of the rain died down, and Juvia found herself standing again. She didn't have a drop of water on her, but her gym clothes were gone. Instead she wore a sleeveless, strapless leotard, that fit her like a bathing suit would. On her arms were shoulder length blue gloves, and both her suit and gloves had cyan lining folded over at the tops. Around Juvia's waste was a translucent white cape, which billowed down behind her ankles, and her feet were adorned with short blue boots that matcher her gloves and suit.

"What has happened to Juvia?" She asked in a shaky voice, and grabbed at her hair with a frightened expression. When she touched her hair, she found it was all gathered on the left side of her head, half of it was spun into three loops, and the rest was bundled into a ponytail. Two raindrop hair clips kept it all in shape.

"No time to explain!" Lucy shouted.

Juvia turned her head to see the previously harmless shadowed figure leaping towards her. She let out a scream, but it was silenced by a shout from Lucy. "

"Starlight stream!" Lucy's stick lit up and flooded the area with stars, but her stars went straight through the shadow. She sucked her teeth, and leapt to Juvia's side, grabbing the other girl by the arm and pulling her away from the shadow's next attack.

"Juvia, that thing is your sadness! You have to fight it!" She told her, as the blue hair girl stumbled, trying to keep up with her underclassman.

"But how? What can Juvia do?" She snivvled, "Juvia is scared."

"You can do anything if you put your heart into it!" Lucy shouted, and grasped Juvia's hands. Juvia was still holding onto the stick as tight as she could. "Just hold out your stick, gather all the strength you have, and shout out whatever comes to mind. You can do it. Remember what I said, Juvia. I care about you."

Juvia's trembling eyes were wet with tears, but she took a deep breath, and nodded. The girls turned their heads to find the shadow lurching towards them. Juvia swung her hang in front of her, rain stick in grasp, and let out a great cry. "Waterfall's tears!"

A great burst of water blasted out of the stick, knocking Juvia and Lucy back. Lucy stumbled to the ground, but Juvia stood hers. She braced herself as another burst of water shot free, and hit the shadow right in it's middle.

The shadow hissed, and attempted to leap at her, but its base had withered, and it collapsed in on itself.

Juvia kept shouting her attack name, with her eyes clenched shut until she felt Lucy's hand on her shoulder. The blue haired girl jumped slightly, and then opened her teary eyes to look at the blonde.

"It's okay now." Lucy told her, and Juvia lowered her arms

In front of them, where the figure had stood now floated a tiny black raincloud. Juvia frowned, and looked at Lucy, "It's still there."

Lucy nodded. "It always will be Juvia, because we can't have love without hate. You have to take your sadness back."

Juvia's brows knotted, and she shook her head softly, "But…"

Lucy's wrapped her arms around Juvia and gave her a soft hug. "It's going to be okay now. I'm here. You won't be alone again."

"Juvia was not alone. Juvia had everyone she needed." She told Lucy again. Then, she turned her head to the blonde, and showed her a teary smile, "but… for some reason… it makes Juvia really happy to hear Lucy say that."

Lucy sighed in relief and smiled, before patting Juvia's back and giving her a soft push forward.

Juvia knelt down in the mud, and held her hands out to the cloud. "It is okay now, little Juvia. Big Juvia has a friend now." She lifted the cloud to her chest and it disappeared into her heart again. "Juvia's not alone."

Juvia saw the sky brighten again, and by the time she came to her feet, she was in her muddy gm clothes again.

Lucy rubbed the other girl's shoulders. "Why don't you let me lend you those clothes now?" She asked.

"No." Juvia put her nose up in the air. Lucy gasped. Had her hard work been for not?

Juvia turned a smile to Lucy, "Juvia's uniform should be dry now. But…" She felt her cheeks grown warm. "Thank you, Lucy. Juvia has not had a friend for a very, very long time."

Lucy smiled, "And I haven't had a magical partner in ever." She laughed, and then choked back her laughter, "You are gonna keep fighting with me, right?"

"Fighting? Oh no, Juvia is not meant for battle. Juvia wants nothing to do with it." Juvia turn her head from Lucy.

"What?! B-But—" Lucy began to whine.

"Just kidding." Juvia laughed, and spun her rain stick around her finger. "Juvia cannot turn down the chance to be a magical girl. It's just like in her manga!"

"Your… what?" Lucy asked, before Juvia began to blabber on about all the comics and manga she had read since the day she was born.

What have I gotten myself into… Lucy thought with a sigh. Then smiled at Juvia's excited face. Well, at least she's smiling again. And I'm not alone anymore, so, I guess it'll only be uphill from here!

Ch 2 End